The martyrs of 1823 should be commemorated

The heavily weighted media remind us about one or two martyrs, but we seem to ignore the two hundred odd enslaved Africans who were killed in 1823. As they protested against inhumane treatment, the state aided by the plantocracy, after shooting them to death between Plaisance and Mahaica, placed two heads in each area from the fort to Georgetown and hanged those who had been convicted at a ‘trial’, in what is now the Promenade Gardens as a reminder of what happens if you dare oppose the powers that be.

Further, Guyanese need be reminded that on August1, 2000, to honour those authentic martyrs, coins were buried in these sacred grounds, and our Head of State promised to have a monument erected to honour them. Eleven years on, we await the fulfilment of this undertaking in this year, designated by the United Nations as the ‘Year of the People of African Descent.’

May I add, at a meeting where African-based representatives were, I was elected vice-chairman of the committee; the government said it would handle and execute programmes for this year.
Queries have so far yielded no response, so much for respecting the will of the people.